About Us - And About Mou Ness Yarns.

In January 2008 we moved to our own 14 acre farm in Orkney and commenced stocking it with assorted woolly creatures in readiness for a breeding programme and for the harvesting of our own home-produced fibre. The resulting yarns, both dyed and undyed, are sold as Mou Ness Yarns, named after the headland on which our farm is situated. We are producing small quantities of specialist homespun yarns, such as angora blends, while the rest of our wool and fibre is being spun by our local mill. The first yarns are now ready & being listed on the Mou Ness page! The Mou Ness Yarns range is available only from Simply Wool.

10th January 2011

Much has changed since we last updated this page! The more there is going on in our lives, the less time we have to tell you about it. We sold the farm in January, having realised that it was hindering, rather than helping, our yarn production ambitions. We now live in a very cosy cottage, just a few miles from The Lighthouse, with no more than a garden by way of land, and with next door neighbours just yards away. Everything is still very much of a guddle at the time of writing, but we are getting there and should in future have much more time to devote to Mou Ness Yarns. Our breeding sheep, alpacas and goats all went to neighbouring farmers who have kindly agreed to keep us supplied with their fleeces.

Maisie learnt to round up sheep most professionally before the move so can now, at 1 year old, look forward to a very long retirement.

18th August 2010

Just back from the Knit Camp at Stirling University. All fairly quiet on the farm at the moment. We have done our shearing and are now leaving the sheep in peace to enjoy the summer grass until the next upheaval at tupping time when the lambs will be separated from their mothers. We ended up with a good assortment of different coloured lambs thanks to Fred, our new tup.

Trying to train Maisie the sheepdog. She needs to learn that she must run away from us to round up the sheep. At the moment she'd rather hang around with people.

17th April 2010

Haven't updated this for ages, for no very good reason. Our lambing has just started with one single boy and one pair of twins, a black girl & a white boy, so far. The lambs & their proud mums have been moved inside for now as the weather has just gone downhill badly following a lovely couple of weeks. It is now cold, wet & windy ; not good for little lambs.

Otherwise winter is generally giving way to spring with some fresh grass growing & all the animals appreciating the longer, lighter days. We now have a trainee sheepdog, Maisie. She is 4 months old & comes from the island of Shapinsay. How good a sheepdog she will be remains to be seen. She can't get much practise yet as our expectant ewes need peace & quiet, rather than exuberant rounding up by an enthusiastic puppy. Graham & Angela will no doubt be delighted if we no longer have to go running to them & their dogs for help any time we need to round up the sheep, though they are always adamant that it is no trouble at all!